[JulianPGough]

Hi, I’m Julian Gough. I write novels (most recently science fiction), children’s books, and hard-to-classify stuff like the End Poem for Minecraft. I’m currently writing a book about the universe, The Egg and the Rock, in public, online, to gather feedback as I go.

I recently published a piece called Life Without Stars: Stanets and Ploons, exploring the fascinating implications of a 2023 paper (Jupiter Mass Binary Objects in the Trapezium Cluster by Pearson and McCaughrean).

The paper reveals that many Jupiter-sized planets are forming in star-making regions, but don’t orbit stars. Some even form binary systems, orbiting each other without stars involved—completely upending standard planetary formation theories.

This has profound implications:

• Most liquid water in the universe is likely in subsurface oceans on moons. • These moons often orbit Jupiter-sized planets. • Starless planets can support more moons due to larger Hill spheres (stable zones for moons).

The surprising but logical conclusion is that most life in the universe might exist without stars.

I’d love your feedback, especially if you’re familiar with this area or simply have fresh thoughts on the topic. It will improve the book. Also, if anyone else has written about these implications, let me know so I can credit them!

Hope you enjoy the piece.

Happy 2025!

– Julian